Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
People wear clothing for three principal reasons:
(1) To protect themselves from the environment,
(2) for modesty, and
(3) To respond to the dictates of fashion.
To accomplish any of these purposes, it is vital that the garments do not fall off of one""s body. And for that to be insured, they must have a certain degree of mechanical integrity internally, and they must be made in some fashion that permits taking advantage of various anatomical features of a person""s body in one way or another.
There have been, to date, only four general methods used, singly or in combination, to accomplish this vital task of keeping garments on the wearer""s body. These methods may be termed wrapping, clamping, draping, and gluing. My invention presents a novel fifth means for securing garments on the wearer""s bodyxe2x80x94one that is particularly appropriate for use in swimwear and underwear, but which may also find utility in many other types of garment.
Applicant has uncovered no means for retaining a garment on a wearer""s body other than the four specified above [wrapping, clamping, draping, and gluing].
The purposes for holding garments on one""s body are, as stated above, to protect one from the environment, for modesty, and to conform to the dictates of fashion. And, of course, to avoid losing them altogether.
Modesty or decency are terms that vary by culture. But in almost all cultures the minimum requirements include covering the external genitalia [penis and testicles for men, and vaginal lips for women], plus the anus. In many cultures women are also required to cover their breasts (at least the nipples and areolae). Some cultures require more coverage than this minimum, but for swimwear and underwear in particular, any such additional coverage is fast becoming optional.
The thong is a well-known variation on the bikini in which most of the back panel of the bottom is removed, and in the most extreme versions includes only a narrow strap connecting the bottom of the front panel down underneath the crotch and up to the waist band.
Like all swimsuits before them, the bikini, thong, and other similar swimsuit designs depend entirely on the principle of wrapping [and to the extent that the material is stretchy, on clamping] to keep the suit on the wearer""s body.
In accordance with the principles of the invention, garments include one or more extension(s) of a design that permits the extension to be inserted into a bodily orifice [or into more than one orifice at once]. For swimsuits and underpants, for example, the orifice to be used would be one""s anus [or in the case of a woman, her vagina and/or her anus]. The extension is secured to the garment in a manner such that its location and orientation to the rest of the garment is maintainedxe2x80x94generally by attaching the extension to a somewhat stiff frame. The frame is then wrapped by the fabric of the garment. In the case of swimsuits or underpants, the frame can usefully be extended to wrap around the pelvis from a small distance above the pubis to just behind the anusxe2x80x94thereby gaining added leverage from its snapped-in extension.
This strategy provides the garment with a secure means of mechanical anchorage to the wearer""s body. Any article of apparel, of any design, that utilizes this means for assisting in keeping it on the wearer""s body is included within the scope of this invention.
In some embodiments of this invention a xe2x80x9cone-sided snapxe2x80x9d feature is provided. This means that in the putting on of the garment, one would, in essence, xe2x80x9csnapxe2x80x9d it into a bodily orifice, and to take it off one would un-snap it from that orifice. As with ordinary snap fasteners, this implies that during the snapping and unsnapping process, the piece being inserted and/or the object into which it is inserted distorts in shape temporarily, with the insert finally occupying a wider space than the opening through which it was pushed. But in sharp contrast to ordinary snap fasteners in which one connects two portions of the snap fastener together or separates them, in order to close or open a gap in the garment, in this case one side of the xe2x80x9csnapxe2x80x9d is a part of the wearer""s bodily anatomy.